VERIFY: The 'Plandemic' documentary is full of misinformation

Much of the information in the video that spread like wildfire on social media was presented without evidence or was demonstrably false.

Author: VERIFY, Jason Puckett (TEGNA), David Tregde, Terry Spry Jr.

Published: 8:23 PM CDT May 8, 2020

Updated: 10:13 PM CDT May 8, 2020

A viral video titled “Plandemic” went live on YouTube this week before the platform quickly removed it. YouTube told VERIFY that the video violated its guidelines on misinformation. But despite the video being removed on Youtube, it was still copied, uploaded, and shared tens of millions of times on other sites.

The video is actually the first part of a longer documentary that will be released at some point -- and it claims to show the real story behind the COVID-19 pandemic.

After thoroughly digging into the video, the VERIFY team is labeling “Plandemic” as disinformation.

It’s filled with false information presented by sources that aren't credible, and trying to push a narrative.

Let’s break it down.

WHO IS IN THE VIDEO:

Mikki Willis is the host of “Plandemic” and interviews Dr. Judy Mikovits throughout. On IMDB, he’s titled as a producer, director and cinematographer with numerous credits to his name. He’s also the creator of Elevate, a production company in California.

“Plandemic will expose the scientific and political elite who run the scam that is our global health system, while laying out a new plan; a plan that allows all of humanity to reconnect with healing forces of nature,” the site reads.

To achieve this end, they interviewed Mikovits. Here’s how the documentary describes her:

“Dr. Judy Mikovits has been called one of the most accomplished scientists of her generation,” it begins. “At the height of her career, Dr. Mikovits published a blockbuster article in the journal ‘Science.’ The controversial article sent shockwaves through the scientific community as it revealed the common use of human and animal fetal tissues were unleashing devastating plagues of chronic diseases. For exposing their deadly secrets, the minions of big pharma waged war on Dr. Mikovits.”

This is all laid out within the first 45 seconds of the documentary, and is the first red flag that the video is disinformation.

Mikovits was a researcher at the National Cancer Institute in the early 90’s, and in 2006 she became the Research Director for the Whittemore Peterson Institute.

In 2011, the study was retracted by “Science,” after ten independent studies were unable to recreate Mikovits’ results. According to the retraction, “Science” found “evidence of poor quality control in a number of specific experiments in the report.”

So Mikovits did publish a study in “Science,” but it was retracted and Mikovits was also fired from her position at the Whittemore Peterson Institute.

She was also arrested in 2011, after the Whittemore Institute accused her of taking materials.

Those charges were ultimately dropped.

CLAIMS IN THE VIDEO:

“The AMA was saying, ya know, doctors will lose their license if they use hydroxychloroquine.” - Dr. Judy Mikovits (16:49)

This is false.

The American Medical Association never threatened to revoke licenses and even if they had, the AMA can’t do that.

An AMA staff member confirmed to VERIFY that they have no control over medical licenses. The AMA is a voluntary membership organization, rather than a regulatory authority with the power to grant or revoke medical licenses. Medical licensure is a state-run process.

The AMA did share guidelines for states regarding COVID-19 prescriptions, including hydroxychloroquine. None of these documents threaten licenses and their language varies state to state.

“Wearing the mask literally activates your own virus. You're getting sick from your own reactivated coronavirus expressions and if it happens to be SARS-CoV-2 then you've got a big problem.” - Dr. Judy Mikovits (20:28)

This is false. Wearing a mask is not causing the virus to “activate.”

In another interview, Mikovits explained her belief that the virus doesn’t spread from person to person -- but instead gets injected with vaccines.

“It’s plausible, it’s probable that it’s been in every flu vaccine since ‘13 to ‘15 because that’s when this work was being illegally done,” she said in the video.

She believes SARS-CoV-2 has been dormant in our bodies for years and that masks are causing it to “activate,” and cause COVID-19.

There is no evidence to support this claim. There are reasons it’s false -- like COVID-19 testing.

Millions of people worldwide are getting COVID-19 tests. If this was a dormant virus in our bodies, the tests would still show it. There would be no negative results from anyone who’s ever had a flu shot.

“[Italy] got an untested, new form of an influenza vaccine that had four different strains of influenza including the highly pathogenic H1N1. That vaccine was grown in a cell line. A dog cell line. Dogs have lots of coronaviruses and that's why they're not testing there.” - Dr. Judy Mikovits (15:53)

Workers don protective gear as they enter a Battelle N95 mask cleaning system to clean and disinfect respirators for the removal of the novel coronavirus in a building on the Adams County Fairgrounds Friday, May 8, 2020, in Henderson, Colo. The state has received two of the N95 cleaning machines to help address the current shortage of personal protective equipment used by health care professionals. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

There’s no evidence that it came from dogs specifically, either. The CDC’s information page on cell-based vaccines doesn’t mention dogs, and neither do other pages.

Finally, it wasn’t required that everyone in Italy use this specific vaccine. It was just one of several options they had for flu vaccinations.

“The game is to prevent the therapies until everyone is infected and push the vaccine, knowing that the flu vaccines increase the odds by 36% of getting COVID-19.” - Dr. Judy Mikovits (18:18)

This is false. The flu vaccine does not increase the chances of getting COVID-19 by 36%.

Mikovits’ claim misrepresents the findings of a study into whether the flu vaccine could increase the chances of getting other viruses.